The End to all Endings
by jack-adam
Summary: A much sadder story than I have even written. Shinichi and Shiho's friendship dangles on a string as a chain of events follows, starting with Shinichi's nightmares of the death of Ran Mouri.
1. The Dream

This is a pretty sad story compared to my others. I guess ' The Look on Her Face' spurred me on. Don't worry, The Teacher is still on its way and going. I just want to try this new story out. Please read and review.

CHAPTER 1

Shinichi woke up with a start.

Sweat was pouring down his face, unknown tears in his eyes. He wiped them away furiously; the sweat disappeared with difficulty, but his tears just seemed to flow on forever. He looked at the room around him, which he was already surprised enough that it had not been smeared with the blood of. . .

He shook himself.

No.

He was being stupid. Shiho would laugh at him if he told her, and SHE was the one who was always paranoid. It was already two years after the Black Organization had been fully captured; both Haibara and him already back in their normal bodies. But why was there this nagging feeling that something new was just about to start? He was sobbing before he knew it, and when he opened his eyes there was Ran, her face filled with concern.

" What's wrong, Shinichi?" his wife asked him. " What's wrong?"

He tried to wipe his eyes from all signs of crying, but it was impossible. It was like trying to stop a dam from flowing with just the force of a toothpick only. She had brought him into a hug, in which he hugged her back tightly. " I won't let anything happen to you, Ran." he whispered angrily. " Never."

Her eyes widened as she pulled away from him, tears almost in her eyes at the sight of his fear.

" What did you dream, Shinichi?" she asked. " What happened?"

He bit his lip, struggling to continue talking.

" I dreamt that you, me and Shiho were at the end of a cliff." he said. " Just the three of us. . .and it was at night, pitch dark. Suddenly you and her started to slip. . .and I was calling out your name." He paused after that, and Ran let him catch his breath long enough for him to continue. " When I managed to grab onto you, the two of us reached the other side of the ledge safely." He gulped for air. His mouth was screaming at him for water, but he just couldn't stop. The words spilled out of his mouth without his consent.

" When I turned to look at you," he whispered. " I found out that the one I had saved was Shiho."

Ran's eyes widened.

" It wasn't you."

Her mouth opened slightly, before smiling. " It was only a dream." she said, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. " Pull yourself together."

But somehow he wasn't so sure.

Something was going to happen, and he didn't like it.

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Shinichi found himself at the door of Shiho's apartment the next day, in which she pooled all of her savings to buy. The professor at first agreed to buy it for her for her 25th birthday present, but she politely obliged. Taking in a deep breath, he knocked on the door, and a muffled grunt was his reply. " Come on," came her voice, and he stepped inside. Shiho was just a few steps away from the doorway, stuffing buttered toast into her mouth as she struggled into her lab coat, but a smile appeared on her face as soon as she saw him.

" Morning, Kudo." she said brightly.

" Yeah." he said gloomily, sitting himself down on the nearest chair he could find.

She raised her eyebrows. " Wow, something bad happened today." she said. " Care to share?"

" That's what I'm here for." he said.

" Okay. . ." she said slowly, clearly noting that this was something serious, and pushed the labcoat onto the ground and sat down next to him.

He licked his lips. " I keep having this dream." he started, but she didn't say anything. " Bit by bit it pieces up together to form into something real and long, and just today it was finished."

Her eyes bore concern. " Can you tell me what it is?"

He thought he would die if he had to say it twice.

So he just cut it short.

" Ran's going to die." he blurted out, eyes stinging with tears. You don't know how embarrasing it was to cry in front of two girls, one who always showed overly concern when he did, and another who mocked him whenever so.

But this time she didn't.

" Come on, Shinichi." she said soothingly. " But real with me. You were the one who always told me never to beleive in deja vu. Hell, whenever I mentioned it you would try to make sure that the direct opposite happened."

He glared at her, and she flinched.

" I don't want you to die either." he said.

Her expression softened. " Why?" she asked. " What exactly DID you dream of?"

He looked away.

They just stayed there in that strange position for a full five minutes when she stood up, a grim smile on her face. " Follow me." she said.

He looked at her, for the first time in the elapsed silence. " Where?" he asked, but she was already making her way to her kitchen.

Filled with curiosity, he followed her.

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Ran picked up her phone, answering it cheerfully. " Moshi moshi, Kudo household."

" Ah! Ran-kun!" came the voice of the professor, and her smile broadened.

" Morning, professor!" she said.

" I have four tickets to the East Side trip of the newest found mountain in Japan, do you want to come?"

Ran's eyes widened, filled with shock and fear.

_" I dreamt that you, me and Shiho were at the end of a cliff." _

" A mountain?" she asked. " As in. . .with a cliff?"

She could almost feel his eyebrows raising over the phone.

_" Just the three of us. . .at it was at night, pitch dark."_

" Yeah." she heard him say, after a pause. " But if you don't want to come. . ."

_" Suddenly you and her started to slip. . .and I was calling out your name."_

Ran's mouth was dry, as she shook her head into the phone, which was an extremely stupid thing to do, but she wasn't thinking about it much at the moment.

_" When I managed to grab onto you, the two of us reached the other side of the ledge safely."_

" No." she said firmly. " We'll be going."

_" When I turned to look at you," _

" Lovely," the professor said. " Me and Ai-kun, I don't care if she's called Shiho now, would meet you two at my house."

_" I found out that the one I had saved was Shiho."_

" Great." Ran said, and put down the phone. She was confident of her luck. Shr would prove that she would not die, and that his dream was just some twisted joke that God was playing on him.

She took in a deep breath, and got ready.

_" It wasn't you."_

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" Coffee?" he asked, puzzled.

Shiho smiled at him, pushing the cup towards him lightly. " My sister used to always make it for me whenever I was in a bad mood. . .come to think of it, it was everyday. . .but no matter. Just drink up, you'll feel better."

He smiled at her, then stopped. " Why are you so nice to me?"

She looked hurt by his words.

" Am I always mean to you?" she asked, and a blush appeared on his face.

" No!" he spluttered. " I just. . ."

Then he noticed her laughing.

" Haibara. . ." he groaned.

" It's Shiho now." she corrected him, still giggling slightly. " I can't beleive that you're still so horribly bad at communicating with women. Now drink up, come on."

He grinned sheepishly at her, and was just about to when his phone rang.

The two of them raised their eyebrows at each other until he picked it up. " Hello?" he said.

It was amusing for Shiho as she watched his expression turn more and more shocked by teh second.

" WHHHHHAAAAATTTTTTT?" he yelled, and Shiho winced.

" Oh, stop making such a big deal out of it, Shinichi." Ran said, holding the phone in her hands a metre away from her ear to prevent herself from eternal brain damage. " The professor's going too, so it'll be the four of us, and not three. See? Your dream was just hicky."

" What's hicky?" Shinichi asked, eyebrows raised.

" At any cost, I want us to go." she said. " Come on, what could happen?"

Shinichi bit his lip. Indeed his dream sounded stupid, and now he knew how Haibara, sorry, Shiho, felt whenever she had bad dreams. " Oh, I don't know Ran." he said. " I couldn't stand the thought. . ."

" I won't stand on the edge of cliffs." she insisted. " Shiho and I wouldn't stand at the same places. In all ways, we'll try to fight your dream, how about that?"

He sweatdropped. " You certainly thought deep into this speech." he said wearily.

" Yep, I have it all on my palm here." she said proudly.

He smiled softly.

" But Ran, if you die. . ."

" I won't." she said firmly. " If we don't go today, what do you want me to do? Just stay away from cliffs for the rest of my life?"

" That sounds good." he said.

He could hear he whine into the receiver.

" Shin. . .chan." she said.

Damn, she always won him over with that.

" Fine." he snapped, and he could almost feel her smile through the phone. Years of marrige would do that to you.

" Great." she said. " We'll meet at the professor's, okay?"

" Fine." he said again, and put down the phone.

He turned at Shiho, who was just sitting there, turning the spoon in her tea, smirking at him.

" What?" he asked wearily.

" You and Ran are really cute together." she said, and he blushed.

" Shin. . .chan. . ." she imitated perfectly.

" Oh, shut up." he said, flushing. " Let's go."

She just sat there, emotionless.

" Haiba---------"

" It's Shiho." she cut in. " And I know. I heard the whole conversation. Ran is an unnaturally strong individual."

" I know," he said feverishly. " I mean, one night we were in bed right? She had this nightmare, so she just kicked me in the shin right? And boy did it. . ."

" Not THAT strong." she snapped. " I mean emotionally."

He stopped, and smiled. " Yeah she is."

Shiho smiled as she sat up. " Let's go." she said.

He grinned.

" Yeah."

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All in all, Kudo Shinichi tried to enjoy himself.

Actually, he didn't need to try at all. The air was refreshing, the food that the professor was delicious, and the scenery was majestic. In fact, he was almost forgetting about his dream until Ran reminded him, a huge grin on her face. " See, what did I tell you?" she said. " Your dream didn't come true after all."

But even if Shinichi wasn't, Shiho was still on the alert.

" But be careful, Ran-san." she said. " Just keep the lookout."

Ran smiled at her and nodded. " I understand." she said. " But still, the two of you are being so paranoid. . .I'm almost frightened."

Shiho bit her lip and said nothing as she helped the professor pack up the thing and get ready to leave. She didn't know what she would do if she lost her sister twice in a row. She knew that it was stupid of her to compare Ran with Akemi, but she just couldn't help it. The way Ran had smiled at her when she and Conan told her the truth was exactly the same as when. . .

She shut her eyes.

No.

Quit remembering up useless things from the past.

Shinichi looked at her. " What's wrong?" he asked.

She shook her head. " Nothing." she muttered. " Nothing."

The professor walked up to the rest of them looking extremely worried. The three raised their eyebrows at him. " What's wrong?" Ran asked, beating the other two to the question. " Is something wrong?"

" No, nothing serious." the professor said hastily. " It just so happens that the driver of the car we booked has just gotten into an accident."

Shinichi's eyes widened.

" Is he alright?" he asked.

" Yes, nothing serious. Just a few broken bones. . ." the professor said, pausing for a moment. " But we won't have a car or driver. . .so we either stay the night or take the spare helicopter they agreed to let us ride."

Shinichi snapped back alert. " No." he said forcefully. " We shall stay the night."

" Oh, for Pete's sake." Ran said impatiently. " You're acting like a baby."

" A baby who's on full alert." he finished, but only then found out how stupid that sounded.

" I have a three competitions tomorrow." Ran said, biting her lip.

" I have a deadline." the professor said.

Shinichi looked at Shiho, almost desperately.

" I. . .might have some labwork to do." she said, sounding slightly apologetic.

He would have thrown her off the cliff, if it was not for Ran speaking up.

" Come on, Shinichi." she said. " Everything's going to be fine."

He bit his lip.

" Don't you trust me?" she asked.

There was a full minutes pause, before he sighed.

" Yes." he said. " Yes I do."

Shiho grinned.

" She owned you on that one," she said, hands on her hips.

" Yeah." he said feverishly. " I wonder how she does it."

They stayed there for another fifteen minutes until a helicopter appeared at the side of the ledge. Shinichi took in several gulps of air as he walked to the side, looking around. It was exactly like what he had dreamed. The area was exactly the same. " Shiho!" he called out, stopping her before she walked to the same spot where he and Ran were. " Stay there."

Shiho didn't say anything, but obeyed.

" We're trying to trick death, aren't we?" she asked.

" Yes we are." he said curtly, turning around, ready to ask the professor to let Ran go first when he noticed him already making his way down the ledge.

He felt a cold chill go down his spine at the sight.

Everything was coming true.

They were the only three on the end of the cliff.

" Professor!" he called out, hoping to ask him to get back up, and let Ran go first. But apparently he had taken the professor off surprise, and he gasped, slipping off the ledge.

" Hakase!" Shiho gasped, rushing to his aid.

The ground was too soft.

Shinichi watched the two of them fall in his mind over and over again.

" RAN!" he yelled, ready to leap off, when something inside him stopped him.

_SHIHO MIYANO_

RAN MOURI

SHIHO MIYANO 

_RAN MOURI _

_SHIHO MIYANO_

RAN MOURI

The names replayed again and again before him, pounding into his head.

_RAN MOURI_

SHIHO MIYANO

RAN MOURI

SHIHO MIYANO

SHIHO MIYANO

SHIHO MIYANO

SHIHO MIYANO

SHIHO MIYANO

He snapped.

He knew who he had saved.

He knew who he had gotten on hold with.

And it was not Ran.

The professor was safely on one side of the helicopter. . .

He was yelling out something. . .

Shinichi looked down, and it was Shiho in his arms.

Time stopped then as he wrenched away from her, ignoring her gasp in pain as her body cut against the rocks below her.

His heart was thumping against his chest, air seeming not enough for him to breathe.

" RANNNNN!" he yelled.

He watched her fall, her eyes never leaving his. There was a grim smile on her face. . .and there was something else. Was that jealousy? Hate? Anger?

Betrayal?

" I love you," he could see her mouth out. " Shinichi."

" I LOVE YOU, RAN!" he yelled, tears stinging in his eyes.

She disappeared behind the rocks, and as he felt his body slowly turn to Shiho, Ran's words fell back into his mind.

_" Don't you trust me?" she had asked._

Yes he did.

But he didn't trust himself.

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Shiho was tearful.

She had lost her sister.

Twice.

But her pain was nothing compared to Shinichi, and she bit her lip as a murderous Shinichi was staring right at her.

" Kudo. . ." she whispered, trying to give him a hug but he pushed her back. There was nothing but hate in his eyes, and by the look on his face, it seemed like he would give nothing but to strangle the woman before him.

" I HATE YOU!" he yelled, tears in his eyes. It was not her fault. He knew that.

But there had to be someone he could blame besides himself.

" Ku. . ."

" I HATE YOU!" he yelled again, his hands on her shoulders, gripping at her arms ferociously, ignoring the tears of pain and hurt in her eyes, ignoring her wince at his grasp. " WHY DID I SAVE YOU? WHY DIDN'T I SAVE HER? WHY DIDN'T I LET YOU DIE?"

He pushed her down, and she fell once more, not even bothering to pick herself up.

She had broken down, sobbing like never before.

" Ran!" he yelled, crying her heart out, hitting his fists against the rocks before him, ignoring the pain and the blood that was soon to come.

The professor bit his lip to hide the tears, not even noticing the driver looking at him uncertainly.

" WHY?" Shinichi yelled again.

And by the looks on the others' faces, anyone could tell that they didn't know either.

END OF CHAPTER 1

Chapter 2 will come up sooner by the count of reviews. Lolz. Please read and review this story.


	2. Graves and Stones

This is chapter 2, thank you to all those who reviewed.

CHAPTER 2

Ran Mouri was dead.

That was what it said on her tombstone, the bold names chipped in clearly. Shinichi was choking back tears just by looking at it, his hands balled up into fists. He remembered staying awake all night, glancing at the empty space by his side on the bed, almost expecting to see her smiling face once more.

Kogoro had his arms around a sobbing Eri, his eyes shut as he looked down at the ground.

How much did the two of them hate him for not being able to save her? How much would they hate him if they found out he had saved another woman instead of their child? His childhood friend? His wife?

It was an empty casket, the police claimed that couldn't find her body anywhere, but Shinichi had the sneaking suspicion that they had indeed found it, just that her body was too mangled up to be actually seen by anyone.

The sky was dark, ready to pour down with rain.

This was not how he wanted her to die.

He wanted her to die by his side, smiling like she always was, in his arms.

He wanted to die with her, and her with him.

" I love you, Ran." he whispered to himself.

Heiji seemed to notice him stand alone, and started to walk over to him when Kazuha stopped him just in time. He looked at her, puzzled, when the look in her eyes told him anything. He stopped moving, and stuffed his hands in his pockets. ' How much pain is he going through?' Heiji thought to himself, as he watched Sonoko sob hysterically into her boy-friend's chest.

Ran was dead.

What a thing to happen.

He noticed the professor walking in his direction and nodded at him.

" Where's Miyano-san?" he whispered softly.

The professor bit his lip. " She's terribly ill." he said. " You don't want to know how she took the news."

Heiji looked at the back of Shinichi, which looked more alone than he had ever seen.

" Did Shinichi try to console her?" Kazhua asked.

The professor looked wooden all of a sudden. " I don't want to talk about that."

And they did not prod further into the question.

It was hours later when the mourners slowly left one by one, and only the professor, Sonoko and Makoto, Eri and Kogoro, Heiji and Kazuha and last of all Shinichi were left. Heiji nudged Kazuha in the ribs. " Let's go." he whispered silently. Kazuha bit her lip. Taking one last look at her best friend's grave she turned and walked away. The professor followed the two of them, afterwards with Sonoko and Makoto.

" Oi, boy." Kogoro called out, and Shinichi turned around.

It shocked Eri on how much pain there was in his eyes, and all of a sudden it seemed like he loved Ran more than she loved her own child.

" Thanks for being with Ran before she died." he whispered.

His hand raised out, ready to give him a hand shake.

Shinichi bit his lip, tears ready to spill once more when he grabbed Kogoro into a hug. Kogoro seemed shocked at first, but shut his eyes, patting his back. " I know." he whispered. " I feel it too."

And there they stayed.

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Gin dropped the spoon that was in his hand.

Vodka blinked, rushing to get it for him, when he took it himself.

" What's wrong, boss?" he asked.

Gin looked around at the corners of his jail cell. " Sherry's in pain." he whispered.

Vodka blinked. " How do you know?" he asked.

But Gin didn't answer.

And as the minutes clocked by, Vodka got the sneaking feeling that he never would.

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Everybody left.

Parents, friends, teachers. . .

One morner remained.

By the name of Kudo Shinichi.

He was kneeling in the direction of her grave, chewing on his bottom lip, which was already swollen. " I love you, Ran." he said. " How many times would I have to say that in order for you to say that back to me in my dreams?"

There was no answer.

There were drops of rain that had started to splatter down onto earth, onto his brand new clothes. He smiled sadly and got to his feet.

" Hey, remember when we were kids?" he asked to nobody in particular. " You told me that you wanted to be married in a castle, and your prince in armour would be right there by your side."

He licked his dry lips.

" Is that implying me?"

Again there was no answer.

" Are you angry at me for saving Shiho, Ran?" he whispered.

There was a clap of thunder, followed by the tremendous pour of rain. He smiled bitterly.

" I guess you are." he said.

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The professor decided to drop by Shiho's apartment, just to see if she was alright.

" Ai-kun?" he called out.

There was no answer.

It was then when he noticed that they keys on the table where she always kept them was missing.

His eyes widened.

" Ai-kun. . ." he whispered, looking out the window at the dark sky.

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Shinichi kept standing there for God knows how long, continuously looking at the tombstone until he heard soft footsteps behind him.

There stood Shiho, dressed totally in black.

Tha air was cold, but was nowhere near to the look Shiho had on her face.

All signs of Haibara's character had disappeared. Haibara smiled once in a while, showing signs of affection from time to time. But she was gone now, and Shiho Miyano was in her place. The woman with no signs of emotions.

" Shiho. . ." he whispered, but she barely looked at him, dropping the roses she had in her hands before Ran's grave. He bit his lip as he watched her slowly unclip the necklace from her neck and place it under the roses she brought.

There was silence after that, where she spent a moment praying to her.

" That belonged to my sister." she whispered, answering a question that was not asked.

He couldn't tell what he wanted to do to her at the moment. If it was Haibara he would have hugged her, and she might have returned it. But Shiho woudl just brush him away, or just simply shatter like glass. There was such guiltiness in his heart as he watched her stand there. She was no unnaturally strong yet fragile, the way her tears fell from her face as she too watched Ran fall from the cliff. He didn't know why he had vented his anger on her in the first place.

" I'm sorry." he whispered.

She didn't answer.

He was about to speak when she cut in.

" We were friends for many years." she said softly. " I even had a cursh on you for a certain period of time."

His eyes widened.

She turned, eyes filled with tears.

The dam had burst.

" I prayed every night for your and Ran's happiness." she said. " I wanted the two of you to be happy, to be happy and raise a family together. Hell, I almost cursed at you for choosing me over her when she fell off the cliff."

A clap of thunder sounded the sky.

" But I thanked you for saving me. You were the best friend I ever had, and she was my lost sister who was found again."

He was begging her to stop talking, but he was forcing her to continue.

_" I HATE YOU!" _

" I can't beleive that I spend all my research money to buy you an engagement present." she said, forcing the words out of her mouth.

_" WHY DID I SAVE YOU?"_

" I can't beleive that I had split a huge wound in my back to prevent the bullet from shooting Ran."

Shinichi felt a pang of guilt at that. He still remembered that he had not thanked her for that yet. It was years later now, and he still had not thanked her for it. His tears just fell from his face at the sight of her cut hands which he had caused. He did not even want to see what other damage he had inflicted on her.

Whatever was physical. . .

How bad did he hurt her internally?

" Do you know what I was thinking when I saved Ran from Gin?" Shiho cried out, all cool disappearing into the air around her. " I was thinking what look you would have on your face if I came back alive without Ran."

The rain continued to fall, soaking the both of them through their clothes.

" And at that moment I didn't care if I died or not; all I wanted was for you and Ran to be together and be happy."

_" WHY DIDN'T I SAVE HER?"_

" And I can't beleive that all I am to you is a wrong choice."

_" WHY DIDN'T I LET YOU DIE?"_

" But now, you saved me." she said. " And doing the opposite of what you did, I am now thanking you."

_" WHY DIDN'T I LET YOU DIE?"_

" But I guess that's useless for me to say, isn't it?" she went on.

_" WHY DIDN'T I LET YOU DIE?"_

She turned away.

" Sh-----," he started, finally getting her name right for once.

" No." she whispered, and he stopped. " Kudo Shinichi is dead to me now."

_" WHY DIDN'T I LET YOU DIE?"_

" Just like I am to you."

_" WHY DIDN'T I LET YOU DIE?"_

" But that's not a bad thing for you, isn't it?" she said, giving him a sad smile.

His mouth opened and shut, not knowing what to say.

" Goodbye," she whispered. " Kudo Shinichi."

And she left the graveyard, not even noticing Shinichi who was calling out to her, the ghost of the past Ran Mouri spilling tears she never even knew she had before.

" And goodbye. . ." she whispered. " Ran-san."

END CHAPTER 2

What do you think? Do you think I could pass off as a drama writer?

Here's a poem that sacred-alliance posted; not too shabby, as I would put in the words in the review (lolz). Thank you for it. And here it is down below.

_Destiny, already set_

_The choice, already made_

_all that's left is timeless regret_

_and the question upon his soul, now decayed_


	3. Benches and Swings

This is chapter 3. Thank you for the reviews everybody!

CHAPTER 3

" She's gone?"

Agasa's face had suddenly turned a pale, chalky gray, eyes almost bulging out of its sockets. Shinichi looked away, not wanting to meet his expressions.

" It's all your fault!" the usually calm Agasa said, rubbing his sore temples. " Why did you hurt her when it was not even her fault? Do you know that I've never ever seen such pain in her eyes before? Do you- - -"

" Yes," Shinichi interrupted. " I know."

Silence.

" So what are you going to do?" the professor asked, in a more gentle tone. " Are you going to look for her?"

Shinichi bit his lip.

" I can't do that." he whispered.

The professor nodded, sitting down on the chair behind him. " Did you talk to her already?"

There was a gap in the conversation for a few seconds before Shinichi filled it.

" Yeah."

Agasa heaved a sigh, and looked up at the dark clouds in the sky.

" It has been raining for hours, now." the professor said.

Shinichi, not even looking up, replied. " Yeah."

Agasa was thinking with all his might now, pushing locations into his head when something cliked. " Shinichi," he said, and Shinichi looked up, being the fact that that was his name. " When was the last time you talked to Ai-kun?"

Shinihci, not even bothering to correct the professor's 'Ai-kun' to 'Shiho', said dully. " About two hours ago, then I went to her place just to make sure. . ."

The professor lept to his feet. " Stay here." he said.

Shinichi's eyes widened. " You know where she is?"

" Yep," the professor said proudly. " As a matter of fact, I do."

" Let me follow you!" Shinichi yelled, grabbing his coat, but Agasa stopped him firmly.

" Shinichi. . ." he said. " I heard what you said to her from the helicopter."

Shinichi looked away.

" Don't you know what she did for Ran-kun when Gin shot- - -"

" I know." he said. " She took the bullet."

There was silence once again.

" She's dead inside now." the professor said. " Just like she was before."

And he walked out of the door, Shinichi left alone in the room.

And the rain continued to fall.

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Shiho sat on the swings, rocking herself back and forth gently, ignoring her already soaked through clothes.

The perimeter around her was pitch dark except for the dim lampost above her.

" I can't beleive that I just did that. . ." she whispered, bowing her head, feeling the rain splatter on her back.

And suddenly it was gone.

She looked up, and saw the professor, smiling down at her.

" I knew you'd be here, Ai-kun." he said, grinning.

She didn't return it.

" What are you doing here, professor?" she asked.

" That's what I should be asking you." the professor answered.

She turned around, looking away.

And the professor didn't speak, waiting for her.

" I'm going away, professor." she said silently.

Silence, expect for the pattering of raindrops on Agasa's umbrella.

" Where to?" he asked.

She remained silent for a while.

" I don't know." she said.

He stayed quiet.

This had to be the longest conversation with the most gaps in it, but for the moment the btoh of them didn't mind it at all. They just stayed there, enjoying each other's presence.

" Then stay here." he said.

She got off the swing.

" I can't." she said, making motion to leave.

" Because of Shinichi?" the professor asked, and she stopped in mid-step.

Then she walked on. " Yeah."

The professor watched her leave until he almost broke down.

" Don't go." he whispered, almost soundlessly, but she heard it.

" I'll be fine." she said reassuringly.

" But I won't." he said.

She paused.

" After all, my cholestrol's off the charts." he said jokingly, trying to laugh the pain away. Then he stopped. " You're like my daughter, Ai-kun."

_And you're like my father._

But she knew that she wouldn't say that out loud.

The professor suddenly felt her gentle touch on his shoulder.

He looked up, a small smile on her face.

He hugged her.

Then all of a sudden her presence was away from him, the smile leaving her face.

" I'm sorry, Agasa." she whispered.

As she walked away, the professor felt a pain in his heart.

" Will you come back to visit me?" he called out.

She stopped for a moment, and without answering, she walked off, disappearing down the long, winding pathway away from the playground.

Agasa shut his eyes.

So it was true.

Haibara Ai was dead.

And Shiho Miyano was gone.

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Shiho walked downwards, and was about to reach the road below when a person in front of her blocked her path.

His eyes were full of sorrow, sadness, almost pleading for forgiveness.

" Hello, Shiho." the man whispered.

The man by the name of Kudo Shinichi.

END CHAPTER 3

Chapter 4 will be up as soon as possible. The next chapter to The Teacher will be up in 2 to 3 days time.


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